Well, the advantages of a flat screen system are many: less desk space, less weight, less power to run it, sharper screen... A desktop flat screen Mac would presumably have a full keyboard, a 14 or 15" screen, cheaper but bigger drives, no need for a battery. While it seems I am almost describing a TiBook, (not a glorified iBook) it ought to be somewhat cheaper than that.<br><br>But then, it's not gonna happen, so why talk about it?<br><br>My concern is that all we can expect from Apple for now is more of the same in the same rapidly-aging form factor. Maybe an extra 100 megahertz. Big deal.<br><br>John<br>[color:red]I don't need no steenkin' signature!</font color=red>

If the two rumored price points for a new iMac prove true ($999 and $1299) it would appear that Apple would be vying to stick a GeForce2MX in at least the higher-end system, actually making an iMac a good gaming system. If other specs are 600/700 MHz, 128/256MB RAM, and 20/40GB HD, I think Apple has a good chance of doing fairly well with this crop of iMacs. <br><br>Some nice new designs (ditch the all-ice front, imo) would also be nice.<br><br>

RAM is so cheap right now, I don't understand why they don't just put like 512 in the high end system. I mean, that would boost sales GREATLY!!!<br><br>[color:red]-- John Bailey</font color=red> ( [color:red]Bdog</font color=red> )<br><br>[color:blue]Email Me!</font color=blue> [email] [color:green]bdog_111@yahoo.com</font color=green> [/email]

So we know nothing yet, but if Apple don't release a TFT iMac, it won't be the end of the world (though it may be the end of the nerds). It always strikes me that those who complain about the imac aren't really in the target market. Over and over again you get professional users (and semi pros) who want a cheapskate system they can run Photoshop and Quark on.<br>This is not the point. Most schools, in my experience, still prefer to have a 15" CRT. It's the cheaper option (just), and you can get more of them in a classroom. This is also true of a lot of home users. Why on earth would you want a hulking great 17" clogging up your living space, just so you can check email and browse?<br>True, a 15" TFT would give more screen space whilst using less living space, but as several posters above point out, a TFT iMac would cost too much. The education market needs, and demands, the cheapest possible unit, as do many home users.<br><br>The other point to note is that this industry needs to mature, big time, if it is to move beyond the current happy band of technie nerds, early adopters, design professionals and "artistes."<br>The guy who delivered my new car last week had never seen an iMac, and he was quite impressed. Apple have been trying to develop the first computing applicance, a product as mature as a TV or toaster, something people will buy without worrying whether it will do what they want it to do. Even speed bumps are unnecessary for an appliance. What you want is good design, rock-solid reliability (with software that checks for its own updates and installs them automatically), and a brand that makes people feel good about buying it. Forget the bleeding edge: the iMac is supposed to become so familiar and everyday that even the guy who delivers cars will go and buy one.<br><br><br><br>

[color:green]Even speed bumps are unnecessary for an appliance. What you want is good design, rock-solid reliability (with software that checks for its own updates and installs them automatically), and a brand that makes people feel good about buying it.</font color=green><br><br>It's pretty obvious even to the casual onlooker that iMac sales are tailing off rapidly. Whether or not "Joe Averageconsumer" actually needs a faster iMac or an LCD model is not the point. Whether or not he wants it is the point. I'll bet you didn't get a bottom-of-the-line car, even though it would get you from A to B just as well as that upscale jobbie you did buy. (I'm assuming they aren't delivering Corollas to the customers' door these days.)<br><br>Nor is it necessary for those with an opinion to actually have the intention to buy an iMac. An interest in the welfare of the company is all one needs. In my case, a selfish interest, spurred on by those 700 AAPL shares I own, at an average buy-in price of around $40. What I want is for iMac sales to go through the roof and share prices to skyrocket. Right now, in their current form factor, sales are heading floorward and schools aren't buying despite the price.<br><br>BTW: is that Doc Bob LeVitus?<br><br>John<br><br>John<br>[color:red]I don't need no steenkin' signature!</font color=red>

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